This application claims benefit of priority under 35 USC xc2xa7119 to Japanese Patent Application No. P2000-233307, filed on Aug. 1, 2000, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stencil printing machine having a plurality of printing drums, each printing drum sets a stencil sheet rolled thereon, which is made based on printing data, and for performing a stencil printing process by pressing a printing paper on each printing drum, and disposing the used stencil sheet from the printing drums, and more particularly, to a stencil printing machine and method capable of efficiently performing the printing process of plural printing information by controlling a stencil making process and a stencil disposal process per printing drum.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a stencil printing machine having plural printing drums capable of performing mono-color and multi-color printing process, a first printing drum, a second printing drum and a pressure drum are fixed rotatably in the machine, and each of the first and second drums are placed closely at the outer peripheral surface of the pressure drum separated to each other in approximately a 90 degree angle around the center of the pressure drum.
When the stencil printing machine performs the stencil printing process, firstly, a stencil clamp section in each of the first and second stencil drums clamps the leading edge of the stencil sheet made by two-color (printing) data, first and second colors, in order to set it on a screen outer-peripheral surface of each stencil drum. After this, a printing paper is fed (printing operation) between the first stencil drum and the pressure drum from a paper feed section in the synchronous rotation among the first stencil drum, the second stencil drum, and the pressure drums. Thereby, the printing paper fed from the paper feed section is clamped by a paper clamp section in the pressure drum, and transferred between the first stencil drum and the pressure drum along the outer peripheral surface. In this process, the first color ink is transferred through perforations in the stencil sheet onto the printing paper.
After the completion of the permeation of the first color ink, the printing paper is then fed by the paper feed section between the second stencil drum and the pressure drum in order to print the second color ink through perforations in the stencil sheet onto the printing paper, based on the same principle of the printing process for the first color ink.
Finally, a paper delivery section delivers the printed sheet on which the desired printing image data have been printed to a desired position and the multi-color printing process is thereby completed.
In the conventional stencil printing machine having the configuration described above, the stencil sheets rolled on all the printing drums must be disposed per different printing process. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, when printing data T50a to T50d including a common printing data item T51 are printed, the stencil sheets having the common printing data item T51 are also disposed and the stencil making process is performed again. The conventional machine consumes many stencil sheets. It is a waste of the stencil sheets. In addition to this conventional drawback, because the common printing data item that has been made on the stencil sheet is made on a stencil sheet again. This process becomes a time consuming and requires a waste of time. That is, the conventional stencil printing machine has a very low efficiency.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is, with due consideration to the drawbacks of the conventional technique, to provide a stencil printing machine and a control method capable of performing a stencil printing process for a plurality of printing information including common printing data.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a stencil printing machine and a control method has a plurality of printing drums. On each printing drum, a stencil sheet made based on printing data is rolled. The stencil printing machine performs a stencil printing process by pressing a printing paper delivered on each printing drum and disposes a used stencil sheet from each printing drum. This stencil printing machine comprises a mode designation section and a control section. The mode designation section designates operation modes regarding whether or not the stencil printing process is a process of a plurality of printing information including common printing data. The control section controls operations of a stencil making process, a stencil disposal process, and a stencil printing process for the printing information according to the instruction through the mode designation section. The control section controls that both the stencil disposal process and the stencil making process are not performed for the printing drum on which the stencil sheet made for the common printing data is rolled when the stencil printing process of the plurality of printing information including the common printing data is designated.
By this configuration, when the printing process for the plural printing information including the common printing data is performed, both the stencil disposal process and the following stencil making process are performed only for the printing drums other than the printing drum for the common printing data. Accordingly, it is therefore possible to keep the consumption of the stencil sheet as low as possible and also possible to reduce the entire operation time of the stencil printing process.
In the stencil printing machine, it is desirable to set the printing drum for the common printing data nearest to the paper feed section. It is thereby possible to prevent the occurrence of re-transfer of the ink to the printing paper, that has been transferred on the printing drum far away from the paper feed section.
In addition, it is desirable that the control section comprises a judgment section to judge whether or not the plural printing information include common printing data.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a stencil printing machine and a control method has a plurality of printing drums. On each printing drum, a stencil sheet made based on printing data is rolled. The stencil printing machine performs a stencil printing process by pressing a printing paper delivered on each printing drum and disposes a used stencil sheet from each printing drum. This stencil printing machine comprises a mode designation section and a control section. The mode designation section designates the printing drum to which a stencil disposal process and a stencil making process are not performed. The control section controls operations of the stencil making process, the stencil disposal process, and a stencil printing process according to the instruction designated through the mode designation section. The control section controls that both the stencil disposal process and the stencil making process are not performed for the printing drum designated by the mode designation section.
According to the configuration described above, both the stencil disposal process and the stencil making process are performed only for desired printing drums that are designated, and the stencil printing process is performed by using all printing drums. It is therefore possible to minimize the consumption of the stencil sheet and to realize the process of the stencil printing process efficiently.